Flight of the Yellow-Hammer

Read "Flight of the Yellow-Hammer" at The Eldritch Dark:

http://www.eldritchdark.com/writings/poetry/193/flight-of-the-yellow-hammer

I believe this haiku from Clark Ashton Smith (CAS) refers to Colaptes auratus, commonly known as the "northern flicker", although one of its alternate common names is "yellowhammer".  There is a completely distinct Eurasian bird species Emberiza citrinella to which the name "yellowhammer" is more frequently applied.

As shown in the photo above, Colaptes auratus does indeed have wings that can be described as a "flame of orange ashen-flecked", and this poem describes what sounds like a wonderfully meditative experience, watching as the bird "Takes wing from pine to pine."